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One of the things i've wondered is how humans are the only species to do civilization building.
So I made this idea where lizard men 65 million years ago did just that, and also it's why mars is a dead planet now.
Though it sounds like it has been done before too, even though I bet their lizard men somehow existed for sixty five million years after that without changing or taking over the world again a few thousand years later.
So I made this idea where lizard men 65 million years ago did just that, and also it's why mars is a dead planet now.
Though it sounds like it has been done before too, even though I bet their lizard men somehow existed for sixty five million years after that without changing or taking over the world again a few thousand years later.
One of the things i've wondered is how humans are the only species to do civilization building.
So I made this idea where lizard men 65 million years ago did just that, and also it's why mars is a dead planet now.
Though it sounds like it has been done before too, even though I bet their lizard men somehow existed for sixty five million years after that without changing or taking over the world again a few thousand years later.
So I made this idea where lizard men 65 million years ago did just that, and also it's why mars is a dead planet now.
Though it sounds like it has been done before too, even though I bet their lizard men somehow existed for sixty five million years after that without changing or taking over the world again a few thousand years later.
“For the past two hundred years we have believed and officially claimed that there is no evidence for intelligent alien life within our galaxy.
That was false.
In the last twenty years there has been communication with an alien race whose nature will cease being a mystery before the end of this week.
The organization known as the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Affairs, our top secret organization whose existence and mode of operation is known by a few, has collected and spent the past two decades communicating with a society more advanced than our own. One that is now closer than ever.
Recently they have sent us a message.
“We are coming.”
The message told us.
We do not know their intentions or what they plan to do,
But I believe they will be peaceful.”
-January 1st, 2512; Edna Guis Confirming Contact Speech
Background
In the time leading to contact, from the moment humans landed on mars, the invention of the interstellar engine to the creation of the Grand Coalition and beyond, the was a question when in the interstellar age that found itself unresolved. That question was simple- is there intelligent life?
For despite what some theorists initially assumed in their wild delusions, intelligent alien life did not show up when humans used their FTL; rather what humans found was a vast expanse of lifeless worlds with the occasional planetoid endowed with odd alien critters on them. Never did humans find anything capable of the things humans were. It seemed that humans were the fluke among the cosmos, something that made sense- after all Earth existed for hundreds of millions of years with complex life.
It became hard for the denizens of the Grand Coalition to imagine sentient life in the galaxy outside earth, especially considering the advent of faster than light travel and how no other civilization seems to have beat humans to it. After all if they did, surely such force would have taken over the galaxy by now.
The people of the Grand Coalition accepted this “truth”, and went about merrily expanding and In the two hundred years before the 26th century, it would seem that the biggest enemy to mankind, was themselves.
In 2421, a civil war of cosmic proportions broke out between those loyal to the coalition and insurrectionists seeking independence, isolation and disunity in a vast, uncaring cold universe. The war was the first major interstellar war, from that war coming vast amounts of pointless dying. The interstellar war raged on for two decades, and is still in the mind of many citizens of the Grand Coalition as of 2512.
With the defeat of independence movements and the Coalition’s loosening of its control in order to appease its colonies and avoid another interstellar civil war it would only be a matter of two decades before humans picked back up the pace- expanding into the infinite frontier once more.
It seemed for some time that humans have finally conquered the cold, hostile cosmos. After all, humans learned to harness the weather, they learned to jump across the expanses of space and evaded self-extermination. Better yet, it seemed there was no other civilizations to compete or rival humans out there.
So it seemed.
In 2492, a shock came to the Grand Coalition in the form of a message on an outlying colony world known as Vestiva. A alien message, something thought unthinkable. Why didn’t these aliens contacting us only now not take over the entire galaxy? Are these aliens on the verge of doing so?
The following two decades saw to Vestiva becoming a world under strict watch by a organization known as the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Affairs, or BETA. BETA’s purpose was to assess the nature of the alien society nearing at hand and determine a very important question; do they threaten the existence of the human species, or are they about to open humans up to a galactic community of a scale far vaster than the two centuries of feverish expansion that has been human history up to this point?
Yet of course info got out, rumors spread- especially with the inexplicable military build up and boom in secret research facilities that soon followed afterwards.
But the Grand Coalition never officially said a word about the contact. It would be two decades later, in the year 2512 that the Grand Coalition would have Edna Guis, the secretly chosen representative for mankind announce that humans have contacted an alien intelligence, one presumably more advanced than us. One marching ever closer, with motives completely unknown.
As it turns out humans are not alone,
and that is horrifying.
Overview
Contact is a space opera RP that is character based, but you do not need to stick with one character. You can pretty much be whoever you want, from a civilian to a general, however the more authority and impact your character may have on the story, the more I expect you to play the RP. Your characters can die [in theory], and if they do, feel free to make a new one.
At the start the aliens will be controlled by me until later on, but the aliens for the most part can be used as NPCs provided they don't get treated as cannon fodder. The nature of the aliens will be kept mostly vague until shown off them in character.
You can't be a alien at the start.
Character Sheet
Name-
Appearance-
Biography-
Thingies- [anything they have]
[Optional] Affilations: [previous relations between characters, affiliations with an organization and so on].
Other-
-----
Guidelines
1. The common RP rules apply
2. I am not one to look for hyper realism, but please no psionics [isn't weather control and electrolasers enough?] and acknowledge that space is not a ocean [to the best of one's abilities].
3. The higher up a character you intend to be, the more commitment I want to that character.
4. You can make many characters while only having one character sheet.
5. If there's any questions you want to ask, like "is a shuttle spaceship that does X okay?", ask them. I'm pretty active when it comes to OOC interaction.
-----
Information Sheets
Here's a share of extended information people can read here if they want a better understanding of the setting.
History
Technology
Culture
------
As for any potential questions about a map, I intentionally left much of the worlds blank so people can fill in such info in their character sheets. The only consistencies I care for concerning systems is that the inner systems are generally much more developed than the outer systems, outside of that feel free to make up star systems. Mapping I consider a lower priority for now and someone else could even make one even if it will likely be inaccurate just because space is 3D and a map showing space tends to be 2D.
Blahseuideoidbiuprefbljy3dn83ewbiorbiponewmaoidewnijdmjom,hemhio;nhmeweiuwnhdnipbewbdwienoiwqcbhipeqpceqchiunchiuqegyqgiueqgdugiedguiewugideugiduigewdiugeugidewiugdiugewdugiewdugiwiugdugiewfdgiuewdguiewguidewuigdfiugewdgu
I - electric current
batteries go + and -
"Camel Spiders" redirects here. For the 2011 film, see Camel Spiders (film).
Solifugae
Temporal range: Late Carboniferous–Recent
PreЄЄOSDCPTJKPgN
Solifugid from Arizona.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Subclass: Dromopoda
Order: Solifugae
Sundevall, 1833
Families
see text
Solifugae is an order of animals in the class Arachnida. They are known variously as camel spiders, wind scorpions, sun spiders, or solifuges. The order includes more than 1,000 described species in about 153 genera. Much like a spider, the body of a Solifugid has two tagmata: an opisthosoma (abdomen) behind the prosoma (that is, in effect, a combined head and thorax). At the front end, the prosoma bears two chelicerae that, in most species, are conspicuously large. The chelicerae serve as jaws and in many species also are used for stridulation. Unlike scorpions, solifugids do not have a third tagma that forms a "tail". Most species of Solifugae live in dry climates and feed opportunistically on ground-dwelling arthropods and other small animals. The largest species grow to a length of 12–15 cm (5–6 in), including legs. A number of urban legends exaggerate the size and speed of Solifugae, and their potential danger to humans, which is negligible.
Contents [hide]
1 Anatomy
1.1 Chelicerae
1.2 Legs and pedipalps
1.3 Eyes
2 Classification
3 Ecology
4 Life cycle
5 Etymology
6 Solifugids and humans
6.1 Urban legends
7 References
8 External links
Anatomy[edit]
Ventral aspect of a Solifugid, showing respiratory slots
Solifugae are moderately small to large arachnids (a few millimeters to several centimeters in body length), with the larger species reaching 12–15 cm (5–6 in) in length, including legs.[1][2] Figures quoting implausible sizes for sensational effect are seldom useful because when they are not outright fictitious they usually include leg lengths in non-standard ways.[citation needed] In practice, the respective lengths of the legs of various species differ drastically, so the resulting figures are often misleading. More practical measurements refer primarily to the body length, quoting leg lengths separately, if at all. The body length is up to 7 cm (3 in).[3][4] Most species are closer to 5 cm (2 in) long, and some small species are under 1 cm (0.4 in) in head-plus-body length when mature.[5]
The body has two main parts (tagmata). The prosoma, or cephalothorax, is the anterior tagma, and the ten-segmented abdomen, or opisthosoma, is the posterior tagma. As shown in the illustrations, the Solifugid prosoma and opisthosoma are not separated by nearly as clear a constriction as occurs in "true spiders", the order Araneae. The prosoma comprises the head, the mouthparts and the somites that bear the legs and the pedipalps. The alternative name "cephalothorax" reflects the fact that the prosoma includes the parts that in insects form the head plus the thorax. Though it is not split into two clear tagmata, the prosoma does have a large, relatively well-defined anterior carapace, bearing the animal's eyes and chelicerae, while a smaller posterior section bears the legs.[5][6] Like pseudoscorpions and harvestmen, Solifugae lack book lungs, having instead a well-developed tracheal system that takes in air through three pairs of slits on the animal's underside.
Chelicerae[edit]
Lateral aspect of chelicera, showing teeth and cutting edge
Among the most distinctive features of the Solifugae are their large chelicerae, which in many species are longer than the prosoma. Each of the two chelicerae has two articles (segments, parts connected by a joint,[7]) forming a powerful pincer, much like that of a crab's; each article bears a variable number of teeth, largely depending on the species.[5][6] The chelicerae of many species are surprisingly strong; they are capable of shearing hair or feathers from vertebrate prey or carrion, and of cutting through skin and thin bones such as those of small birds.[8] Many Solifugae stridulate with their chelicerae, producing a rattling noise.[2]
Legs and pedipalps[edit]
Like most other arachnids, although Solifugae appear to have five pairs of legs, only the hinder four pairs actually are "true" legs. Each true leg has seven segments: coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus.[8][9]
The first, or anterior, of the five pairs of leg-like appendages are not "true" legs, but pedipalps and the pedipalps have only five segments each. The pedipalps of Solifugae function partly as sense organs similar to insects' antennae, and partly in locomotion, feeding and fighting. In normal locomotion, they do not quite touch the ground, but are held out to detect obstacles and prey; in that attitude, they look particularly like an extra pair of legs or perhaps arms. Reflecting the great dependence of Solifugae on their tactile senses, their anterior true legs commonly are smaller and thinner than the posterior three pairs. That smaller anterior pair act largely in a sensory role as a supplement to the pedipalps, and in many species they accordingly lack tarsi. At the tips of their pedipalps, Solifugae bear eversible adhesive organs, which they may use to capture flying prey, and which at least some species certainly use for climbing smooth surfaces.[8][10]
A female of a species in the family Solpugidae showing the malleoli beneath the posterior pair of legs
For the most part, only the posterior three pairs of legs are used for running.[6][8] On the undersides of the coxae and trochanters of the last pair of legs, Solifugae have fan-shaped sensory organs called malleoli or racquet organs (sometimes spelt racket). Sometimes the blades of the malleoli are directed forward, sometimes not. Neither the mode of operation nor the function of the malleoli is yet clearly understood.[5] It is suspected that they are sensory organs for the detection of vibrations in the soil, perhaps to detect threats and potential prey or mates.[8]
Males are usually smaller than females, with relatively longer legs.[2] Unlike females the male bears a pair of flagella, one on each chelicera. In the accompanying photograph of a male Solifugid, one flagellum is just visible near the tip of each chelicera. The flagella, which bend back over the chelicerae, are sometimes called horns and are believed to have some sexual connection, but their function has not yet been clearly explained.[8]
Eyes[edit]
Solpugid eyes with presumably protective bristles
In some species, there are very large central eyes. They look like simple eyes or ocelli, but they are in fact surprisingly sophisticated. They can recognise forms, and are used in hunting and avoiding enemies. These eyes are remarkable in their internal anatomy; there is a suggestion that they represent the last step in the integration of the aggregate of simple ocelli into a compound eye, and of further integration of a compound eye into a simple eye.[11] In contrast, lateral eyes are absent in many species, and where they are present at all, they are only rudimentary.
Classification[edit]
The Solifugae are an order of their own. Although non-biologists are prone to confuse them with spiders, spiders form a completely distinct order, the Araneae. The order Solifugae comprises over 1000 described species in 153 genera assigned to the following 12 families:[12]:213
Ammotrechidae
Ceromidae
Daesiidae
Eremobatidae
Galeodidae
Gylippidae
Hexisopodidae
Karschiidae
Melanoblossidae
Mummuciidae
Rhagodidae
Solpugidae
The family Protosolpugidae is only known from one fossil species from the Pennsylvanian.
Ecology[edit]
Gluvia dorsalis eating a cabbage bug (Eurydema oleracea)
Although Solifugae are considered to be endemic indicators of desert biomes,[5]:1 they occur widely in semi-desert and scrub. Some species also live in grassland or forest habitats. Solifugae generally inhabit warm and arid habitats, including virtually all warm deserts and scrublands in all continents excepting Antarctica and Australia.[2]
Solifugae are carnivorous or omnivorous, with most species feeding on termites, darkling beetles, and other small ground-dwelling arthropods. Solifuges are opportunistic feeders and have been recorded as feeding on snakes, small lizards and rodents;[5] Prey is located with the pedipalps and killed and cut into pieces by the chelicerae. The prey is then liquefied and the liquid ingested through the pharynx. Although they do not normally attack humans, these chelicerae can penetrate human skin, and painful bites have been reported.[2]
Life cycle[edit]
Solifugae are typically univoltine.[5]:8 Reproduction can involve direct or indirect sperm transfer; when indirect, the male emits a spermatophore on the ground and then inserts it with his chelicerae in the female's genital pore. To do this, he flings the female on her back.
The female then digs a burrow, into which she lays 50 to 200 eggs - some species then guard them until they hatch. Because the female will not feed during this time, she will try to fatten herself beforehand, and a species of 5 cm (2.0 in) has been observed to eat more than 100 flies during that time in the laboratory.[2] Solifugae undergo a number of stages including, egg, post-embryo, nine to ten nymphal instars, and adults.[5]
Etymology[edit]
The name Solifugae derives from Latin, and means "those that flee from the sun". The order is also known by the names Solpugida, Solpugides, Solpugae, Galeodea and Mycetophorae. Their common names include camel spider, wind scorpion, jerrymunglum,[13] sun scorpion and sun spider. In southern Africa they are known by a host of names including red romans, haarskeerders ("hair cutters") and baardskeerders ("beard cutters"), the latter two relating to the belief they use their formidable jaws to clip hair from humans and animals to line their subterranean nests.[14]
Solifugids and humans[edit]
A scorpion (left) fighting a solifugid (right)
Solifugids have been recognised as distinct taxa from ancient times. The Greeks recognized that they were distinct from spiders; spiders were called ἀράχνη (arachne) while Solifugae were named φαλάγγιον (phalangion). In Aelian's De natura animalium they are mistakenly mentioned, along with scorpions, as responsible for the abandoning of a country in Ethiopia. Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein theorised in 1797 that the "mice" which plagued the Philistines in the Old Testament were Solifugae. During World War I, troops stationed in Abū Qīr, Egypt would stage fights between captive jerrymanders, as they referred to them, and placed bets on the outcome. Similarly, British troops stationed in Libya in World War II would stage fights between solifugae and scorpions.[5]:2–3
Urban legends[edit]
Solifugae are the subject of many urban legends and exaggerations about their size, speed, behaviour, appetite, and lethality. They are not especially large, the biggest having a leg span of about 12 cm (4.7 in).[2] They are fast on land compared to other invertebrates with their top speed estimated to be 16 km/h (10 mph),[1] close to half as fast as the fastest human sprinter.[15] Members of this order of Arachnida apparently have no venom, with the possible exception of one species in India (Rhagodes nigrocinctus) as suggested in one study,[16] and do not spin webs.
Due to their bizarre appearance, many people are startled by or even afraid of them. This fear was sufficient to drive a family from their home when one was discovered in a soldier's house in Colchester, England and caused the family to blame the solifugid for the death of their pet dog.[17] They are non-venomous, although they are capable of inflicting a painful bite with their powerful jaws.[18]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b "Egyptian giant solpugid (camel spider) Galeodes arabs". National Geographic. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g G. Schmidt (1993). Giftige und gefährliche Spinnentiere (in German). Westarp Wissenschaften. ISBN 3-89432-405-8.
Jump up ^ Pechenik, Jan (1996). Biology of the Invertebrates. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Publishers. ISBN 0-697-13712-0.
Jump up ^ Mullen, Gary R. (2009). Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2 ed.). Burlington, Massachusetts: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-372500-4.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Fred Punzo (1998). The Biology of Camel-Spiders. Springer. ISBN 0-7923-8155-6. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
^ Jump up to: a b c Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. pp. 613–614. ISBN 0-03-056747-5.
Jump up ^ Brown, Lesley (1993). The New shorter Oxford English dictionary on historical principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861271-0.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Holm, Erik, Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansie; Goggo Guide; LAPA publishers (URL: WWW.LAPA.co.za). 2010
Jump up ^ Filmer, Martin (1997). Southern African Spiders. City: BHB International / Struik. ISBN 1-86825-188-8.
Jump up ^ Harmer, Sir Sidney Frederic; Shipley, Arthur Everett et alia: The Cambridge natural history Volume 4, Crustacea, Trilobites, Arachnida, Tardigrada, Pentastomida etc. Macmillan Company 1895
Jump up ^ Beklemishev, Vladimir (1969). Principles of Comparative Anatomy of Invertebrates. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226041751.
Jump up ^ Levin, Simon A. (2001). Encyclopedia of biodiversity, Volume 1. 2001: Academic Press. p. 943. ISBN 978-0-12-226866-3.
Jump up ^ Skaife, Sydney Harold; South African Nature Notes, Second edition. Pub: Maskew Miller: Cape Town, 1954.
Jump up ^ Ross Piper (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Greenwood Press.
Jump up ^ "IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Biomechanical Research Project: Berlin 2009." (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-18.
Jump up ^ M. Aruchami & G. Sundara Rajulu (1978). "An investigation on the poison glands and the nature of the venom of Rhagodes nigrocinctus (Solifugae: Arachnida)". Nat. Acad. Sci. Letters (India) 1: 191–192.
Jump up ^ "Stowaway Afghan spider kills family dog". CNN. August 28, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
Jump up ^ David Penney (2009). "Solifugae (camel spiders)". Common Spiders and Other Arachnids of The Gambia, West Africa. Siri Scientific Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-9558636-3-9.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solifugae.
Wikispecies has information related to: Solifugae
Portal icon Arthropods portal
Mikkelson, Barbara & David P. "Camel Spiders" at Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages.
"Camel Spiders: Behind an E-Mail Sensation From Iraq". National Geographic. June 29, 2004.
"The Arachnid Order Solifugae".
[show] v t e
Arachnida orders
Categories: ArachnidsSolifugaeUrban legends
Hack in a name is bad luck.
Allrgies to cheese, dairy, bread, tacos, corn, tortila, pizzas, soy, soy nuts, mozzerrela.
I - electric current
batteries go + and -
"Camel Spiders" redirects here. For the 2011 film, see Camel Spiders (film).
Solifugae
Temporal range: Late Carboniferous–Recent
PreЄЄOSDCPTJKPgN
Solifugid from Arizona.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Subclass: Dromopoda
Order: Solifugae
Sundevall, 1833
Families
see text
Solifugae is an order of animals in the class Arachnida. They are known variously as camel spiders, wind scorpions, sun spiders, or solifuges. The order includes more than 1,000 described species in about 153 genera. Much like a spider, the body of a Solifugid has two tagmata: an opisthosoma (abdomen) behind the prosoma (that is, in effect, a combined head and thorax). At the front end, the prosoma bears two chelicerae that, in most species, are conspicuously large. The chelicerae serve as jaws and in many species also are used for stridulation. Unlike scorpions, solifugids do not have a third tagma that forms a "tail". Most species of Solifugae live in dry climates and feed opportunistically on ground-dwelling arthropods and other small animals. The largest species grow to a length of 12–15 cm (5–6 in), including legs. A number of urban legends exaggerate the size and speed of Solifugae, and their potential danger to humans, which is negligible.
Contents [hide]
1 Anatomy
1.1 Chelicerae
1.2 Legs and pedipalps
1.3 Eyes
2 Classification
3 Ecology
4 Life cycle
5 Etymology
6 Solifugids and humans
6.1 Urban legends
7 References
8 External links
Anatomy[edit]
Ventral aspect of a Solifugid, showing respiratory slots
Solifugae are moderately small to large arachnids (a few millimeters to several centimeters in body length), with the larger species reaching 12–15 cm (5–6 in) in length, including legs.[1][2] Figures quoting implausible sizes for sensational effect are seldom useful because when they are not outright fictitious they usually include leg lengths in non-standard ways.[citation needed] In practice, the respective lengths of the legs of various species differ drastically, so the resulting figures are often misleading. More practical measurements refer primarily to the body length, quoting leg lengths separately, if at all. The body length is up to 7 cm (3 in).[3][4] Most species are closer to 5 cm (2 in) long, and some small species are under 1 cm (0.4 in) in head-plus-body length when mature.[5]
The body has two main parts (tagmata). The prosoma, or cephalothorax, is the anterior tagma, and the ten-segmented abdomen, or opisthosoma, is the posterior tagma. As shown in the illustrations, the Solifugid prosoma and opisthosoma are not separated by nearly as clear a constriction as occurs in "true spiders", the order Araneae. The prosoma comprises the head, the mouthparts and the somites that bear the legs and the pedipalps. The alternative name "cephalothorax" reflects the fact that the prosoma includes the parts that in insects form the head plus the thorax. Though it is not split into two clear tagmata, the prosoma does have a large, relatively well-defined anterior carapace, bearing the animal's eyes and chelicerae, while a smaller posterior section bears the legs.[5][6] Like pseudoscorpions and harvestmen, Solifugae lack book lungs, having instead a well-developed tracheal system that takes in air through three pairs of slits on the animal's underside.
Chelicerae[edit]
Lateral aspect of chelicera, showing teeth and cutting edge
Among the most distinctive features of the Solifugae are their large chelicerae, which in many species are longer than the prosoma. Each of the two chelicerae has two articles (segments, parts connected by a joint,[7]) forming a powerful pincer, much like that of a crab's; each article bears a variable number of teeth, largely depending on the species.[5][6] The chelicerae of many species are surprisingly strong; they are capable of shearing hair or feathers from vertebrate prey or carrion, and of cutting through skin and thin bones such as those of small birds.[8] Many Solifugae stridulate with their chelicerae, producing a rattling noise.[2]
Legs and pedipalps[edit]
Like most other arachnids, although Solifugae appear to have five pairs of legs, only the hinder four pairs actually are "true" legs. Each true leg has seven segments: coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus.[8][9]
The first, or anterior, of the five pairs of leg-like appendages are not "true" legs, but pedipalps and the pedipalps have only five segments each. The pedipalps of Solifugae function partly as sense organs similar to insects' antennae, and partly in locomotion, feeding and fighting. In normal locomotion, they do not quite touch the ground, but are held out to detect obstacles and prey; in that attitude, they look particularly like an extra pair of legs or perhaps arms. Reflecting the great dependence of Solifugae on their tactile senses, their anterior true legs commonly are smaller and thinner than the posterior three pairs. That smaller anterior pair act largely in a sensory role as a supplement to the pedipalps, and in many species they accordingly lack tarsi. At the tips of their pedipalps, Solifugae bear eversible adhesive organs, which they may use to capture flying prey, and which at least some species certainly use for climbing smooth surfaces.[8][10]
A female of a species in the family Solpugidae showing the malleoli beneath the posterior pair of legs
For the most part, only the posterior three pairs of legs are used for running.[6][8] On the undersides of the coxae and trochanters of the last pair of legs, Solifugae have fan-shaped sensory organs called malleoli or racquet organs (sometimes spelt racket). Sometimes the blades of the malleoli are directed forward, sometimes not. Neither the mode of operation nor the function of the malleoli is yet clearly understood.[5] It is suspected that they are sensory organs for the detection of vibrations in the soil, perhaps to detect threats and potential prey or mates.[8]
Males are usually smaller than females, with relatively longer legs.[2] Unlike females the male bears a pair of flagella, one on each chelicera. In the accompanying photograph of a male Solifugid, one flagellum is just visible near the tip of each chelicera. The flagella, which bend back over the chelicerae, are sometimes called horns and are believed to have some sexual connection, but their function has not yet been clearly explained.[8]
Eyes[edit]
Solpugid eyes with presumably protective bristles
In some species, there are very large central eyes. They look like simple eyes or ocelli, but they are in fact surprisingly sophisticated. They can recognise forms, and are used in hunting and avoiding enemies. These eyes are remarkable in their internal anatomy; there is a suggestion that they represent the last step in the integration of the aggregate of simple ocelli into a compound eye, and of further integration of a compound eye into a simple eye.[11] In contrast, lateral eyes are absent in many species, and where they are present at all, they are only rudimentary.
Classification[edit]
The Solifugae are an order of their own. Although non-biologists are prone to confuse them with spiders, spiders form a completely distinct order, the Araneae. The order Solifugae comprises over 1000 described species in 153 genera assigned to the following 12 families:[12]:213
Ammotrechidae
Ceromidae
Daesiidae
Eremobatidae
Galeodidae
Gylippidae
Hexisopodidae
Karschiidae
Melanoblossidae
Mummuciidae
Rhagodidae
Solpugidae
The family Protosolpugidae is only known from one fossil species from the Pennsylvanian.
Ecology[edit]
Gluvia dorsalis eating a cabbage bug (Eurydema oleracea)
Although Solifugae are considered to be endemic indicators of desert biomes,[5]:1 they occur widely in semi-desert and scrub. Some species also live in grassland or forest habitats. Solifugae generally inhabit warm and arid habitats, including virtually all warm deserts and scrublands in all continents excepting Antarctica and Australia.[2]
Solifugae are carnivorous or omnivorous, with most species feeding on termites, darkling beetles, and other small ground-dwelling arthropods. Solifuges are opportunistic feeders and have been recorded as feeding on snakes, small lizards and rodents;[5] Prey is located with the pedipalps and killed and cut into pieces by the chelicerae. The prey is then liquefied and the liquid ingested through the pharynx. Although they do not normally attack humans, these chelicerae can penetrate human skin, and painful bites have been reported.[2]
Life cycle[edit]
Solifugae are typically univoltine.[5]:8 Reproduction can involve direct or indirect sperm transfer; when indirect, the male emits a spermatophore on the ground and then inserts it with his chelicerae in the female's genital pore. To do this, he flings the female on her back.
The female then digs a burrow, into which she lays 50 to 200 eggs - some species then guard them until they hatch. Because the female will not feed during this time, she will try to fatten herself beforehand, and a species of 5 cm (2.0 in) has been observed to eat more than 100 flies during that time in the laboratory.[2] Solifugae undergo a number of stages including, egg, post-embryo, nine to ten nymphal instars, and adults.[5]
Etymology[edit]
The name Solifugae derives from Latin, and means "those that flee from the sun". The order is also known by the names Solpugida, Solpugides, Solpugae, Galeodea and Mycetophorae. Their common names include camel spider, wind scorpion, jerrymunglum,[13] sun scorpion and sun spider. In southern Africa they are known by a host of names including red romans, haarskeerders ("hair cutters") and baardskeerders ("beard cutters"), the latter two relating to the belief they use their formidable jaws to clip hair from humans and animals to line their subterranean nests.[14]
Solifugids and humans[edit]
A scorpion (left) fighting a solifugid (right)
Solifugids have been recognised as distinct taxa from ancient times. The Greeks recognized that they were distinct from spiders; spiders were called ἀράχνη (arachne) while Solifugae were named φαλάγγιον (phalangion). In Aelian's De natura animalium they are mistakenly mentioned, along with scorpions, as responsible for the abandoning of a country in Ethiopia. Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein theorised in 1797 that the "mice" which plagued the Philistines in the Old Testament were Solifugae. During World War I, troops stationed in Abū Qīr, Egypt would stage fights between captive jerrymanders, as they referred to them, and placed bets on the outcome. Similarly, British troops stationed in Libya in World War II would stage fights between solifugae and scorpions.[5]:2–3
Urban legends[edit]
Solifugae are the subject of many urban legends and exaggerations about their size, speed, behaviour, appetite, and lethality. They are not especially large, the biggest having a leg span of about 12 cm (4.7 in).[2] They are fast on land compared to other invertebrates with their top speed estimated to be 16 km/h (10 mph),[1] close to half as fast as the fastest human sprinter.[15] Members of this order of Arachnida apparently have no venom, with the possible exception of one species in India (Rhagodes nigrocinctus) as suggested in one study,[16] and do not spin webs.
Due to their bizarre appearance, many people are startled by or even afraid of them. This fear was sufficient to drive a family from their home when one was discovered in a soldier's house in Colchester, England and caused the family to blame the solifugid for the death of their pet dog.[17] They are non-venomous, although they are capable of inflicting a painful bite with their powerful jaws.[18]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b "Egyptian giant solpugid (camel spider) Galeodes arabs". National Geographic. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g G. Schmidt (1993). Giftige und gefährliche Spinnentiere (in German). Westarp Wissenschaften. ISBN 3-89432-405-8.
Jump up ^ Pechenik, Jan (1996). Biology of the Invertebrates. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Publishers. ISBN 0-697-13712-0.
Jump up ^ Mullen, Gary R. (2009). Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2 ed.). Burlington, Massachusetts: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-372500-4.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Fred Punzo (1998). The Biology of Camel-Spiders. Springer. ISBN 0-7923-8155-6. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
^ Jump up to: a b c Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. pp. 613–614. ISBN 0-03-056747-5.
Jump up ^ Brown, Lesley (1993). The New shorter Oxford English dictionary on historical principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861271-0.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Holm, Erik, Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansie; Goggo Guide; LAPA publishers (URL: WWW.LAPA.co.za). 2010
Jump up ^ Filmer, Martin (1997). Southern African Spiders. City: BHB International / Struik. ISBN 1-86825-188-8.
Jump up ^ Harmer, Sir Sidney Frederic; Shipley, Arthur Everett et alia: The Cambridge natural history Volume 4, Crustacea, Trilobites, Arachnida, Tardigrada, Pentastomida etc. Macmillan Company 1895
Jump up ^ Beklemishev, Vladimir (1969). Principles of Comparative Anatomy of Invertebrates. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226041751.
Jump up ^ Levin, Simon A. (2001). Encyclopedia of biodiversity, Volume 1. 2001: Academic Press. p. 943. ISBN 978-0-12-226866-3.
Jump up ^ Skaife, Sydney Harold; South African Nature Notes, Second edition. Pub: Maskew Miller: Cape Town, 1954.
Jump up ^ Ross Piper (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Greenwood Press.
Jump up ^ "IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Biomechanical Research Project: Berlin 2009." (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-18.
Jump up ^ M. Aruchami & G. Sundara Rajulu (1978). "An investigation on the poison glands and the nature of the venom of Rhagodes nigrocinctus (Solifugae: Arachnida)". Nat. Acad. Sci. Letters (India) 1: 191–192.
Jump up ^ "Stowaway Afghan spider kills family dog". CNN. August 28, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
Jump up ^ David Penney (2009). "Solifugae (camel spiders)". Common Spiders and Other Arachnids of The Gambia, West Africa. Siri Scientific Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-9558636-3-9.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solifugae.
Wikispecies has information related to: Solifugae
Portal icon Arthropods portal
Mikkelson, Barbara & David P. "Camel Spiders" at Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages.
"Camel Spiders: Behind an E-Mail Sensation From Iraq". National Geographic. June 29, 2004.
"The Arachnid Order Solifugae".
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Arachnida orders
Categories: ArachnidsSolifugaeUrban legends
Hack in a name is bad luck.
Allrgies to cheese, dairy, bread, tacos, corn, tortila, pizzas, soy, soy nuts, mozzerrela.
Magic Magnum said
But outside of that? I'd have to think more on it to say.
I really thought they'd have the decency to at least answer the question.
Oh how wrong I was.
Anyways, on topic:
Fly straight into the galactic core and spiral out from there. Maybe i'll find something cool no one has ever seen before.
Perhaps even try finding the answer to the fermi paradox by seeing if there's even intelligent life outside of humans in the milky way at all.
Than maybe go back 65 million years ago to see if the earth was really once ruled by sentient lizard men who tried colonizing mars before completely wrecking the martian biosphere.
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